Don't Forget to Breathe
by cottontaildwarf
Summary: The beauty of being side character senpai boyfriends. Minami Kazuki and Uozumi Takuya fic.
1. Roommates

**I**

"You looked like a dying manta."

"I was just nervous,"

"How does someone even come _close _to that point of anxiety?" The Mohawk-ed student laughed, almost knocking his drink over.

"Hey, careful!" The other boy warned before half pouting, half glaring at his friend. "And it wasn't that funny."

"It was _hilarious!_" He was _so loud. _"I have never, in all my years of life, seen anyone sink while still making distance and time. I'm still surprised you got in."

"I guess Captain Mikoshiba saw my true potential," He seethed while sucking chocolate through his straw. "Besides that, you did really well today."

"I don't get nervous."

"Hmm…" Slurp slurp slurp. "I am so unbelievably glad I don't swim butterfly."

"I was just going to say that," They both leaned in to the table out of habit, relief and disbelief on their faces as they spoke. "Did you see that second year during practice?"

"Matsuoka, right? Freaking, hundred meters at a time to rival the Captain's!"

"And he does freestyle," The green eyed boy wiggled his eyebrows. "That's gonna suck for you."

"Ugh, don't remind me," He sank into his sundae. "_God _that was embarrassing," He mumbled, not expecting his best friend to her. Said best friend proceeded to guffaw through the rest of the conversation.

On a whim, "Why do you like chocolate so much?"

"Because it's good." Minami almost choked on a cookie from his sundae while laughing at Uozumi's are-you-freaking-kidding-me expression. "I don't know man, it's just a feeling. Like, why the heck do you like garlic so much?" He gestured to the garlic bread as the waitress set it down.

"The flavor is sharp."

Minami raised an eyebrow. "'The flavor is sharp' – yeah, yeah, that sounds compl_etely_ different from what I just said."

Choosing to ignore his previous statement, "Are you going to order any real food?"

Insert comical gasp that Uozumi was all too used to. "I'll have you know, this has all the nutrients I need in a day."

"It's probably the reason you crashed in the water today."

The purple eyed freestyle-er almost choked again, but for a completely different reason. "Are you just going to keep on bringing that up, or can I eat my sundae in peace?"

Uozumi bit back a smirk and waved his hands in a 'be my guest' gesture. He couldn't stop the chuckle from emerging from his lips at the sounds of Minami's childish mutterings a moment later.

_**F**_

"Best three out of five?"

The Mohawk student threw his hands up in the air at his friend's plead. "It's just a candy bar!"

"Oh really?" Minami sat up from his sprawled out position on the floor of their bedroom. "It's not 'just' a candy bar if it's the last one! And, if it _is_ 'just' a candy bar, you should have no problem with giving it to me. Right?"

"We agreed on sudden death." Uozumi held up a finger. "Then, you said best two out of three." Another finger. "And now, you want to go best three out of five? Have you not tasted enough defeat?"

"Never!" Minami replied, pumping a fist dramatically into the air. "Now are we doing this or not?"

The green eyed swimmer gave a long and loud sigh, glaring at his roommate throughout, before reluctantly putting a fist out in opening position.

Six seconds later and victory was once again, very sweet. "Hah! Loser,"

He dodged Minami's shot for the head. "Don't call your only friend a loser, loser."

Uozumi rolled his eyes.

"Best four out of seven?"

"For god's sake," He held his head in his hands. "Just take it. I don't care anymore."

"Thank you, Uozumi~"

_**F**_

Uozumi lay wide awake. The clock on his bedside read 3:11 in the morning. His body was begging for him to let it rest and he honestly, _honestly_ wanted to – but the stupidly loud sounds of

_snoooooooore_

–would not let him.

For someone with such a pretty face and good mannerisms, the guy snored like a gorilla. It didn't help that he managed to shake the entire bunk bed frame with a single toss or turn, scaring the crap out of Uozumi (who had always had some strange paranoia of the top bunk collapsing on him if shaken loose).

He glared at the mattress above him, praying for sudden endowment of laser beam shooting pupils, before his concentration was broken by another deafening snore.

God_damn._

He glanced from the corner of his eye at the tip of blanket hanging off the edge of Minami's bed. A half beat of contemplation was all it took. He reached out with one hand and tugged the blanket hard – above him, a body rolled until the comforter hit the floor.

Maybe the cold would stop the snoring.

_snoooooooore_

Nope. He groaned. Why, why, why him? How the hell did someone suddenly develop the habit of snoring overnight? His oldest friend never made such sounds as a _child!_

He threw off his own blanket (agh, curse the dorm master – or whoever it was in charge of the air conditioning) and climbed halfway up the ladder to Minami's bunk. Typical – he slept in the starfish position (atleast _something_ hadn't changed from when they were young), and somehow his pillows had ended up beneath his back and on one side of his neck.

He allowed himself a moment of smirking – he was pretty sure he was better looking while asleep – before tossing the pillows off the bed, too. At this, Minami groaned – seemed he actually did need _something_ to sleep – but Uozumi only hopped back into his own bed.

For the rest of the night, no more snoring.

_**F**_

Minami glared down at the sleeping form of his roommate with his hands on his hips. How _dare_ he strip his dorm mate of his nightly needs and then slip into a comfortable slumber himself?

When he woke up at six in the morning, ready to take off for their morning run, he'd found himself frozen half to death on a pillow-less, blanket-less mattress. Of course, said items were found tossed on he floor, and he was pretty sure he didn't have such a good arm even while _awake._

"You little butt," He growled, completely aware but uncaring of the fact that his roommate could not hear him. "Stealing my crap."

As he continued to emanate malicious waves in Uozumi's direction, he couldn't help but notice that the backstroke swimmer slept with the same expression he had on while swimming – determined furrowed brows. He lay on his back in a perfectly straight line, one hand behind his head and the other at his side.

For some reason, his model like sleeping form only pissed the purple eyed swimmer off even more. With a single battle cry, he brought an open hand down on the revealed skin of Uozumi's stomach.

_**F**_

"You loser," Uozumi winced at the turn. "You got me right in the stomach."

"Hey, my hand's in pain too," The lighter haired boy brandished his own reddened palm, though he didn't look nearly as in pain as Uozumi felt. "Not even freezing water could cool it down."

"What took you so long in the bathroom this morning?" The now taller of the pair asked, glancing over at his jogging partner.

Said partner shot him a withering look, struggling to hide his embarrassment. "Are you really asking a _guy_ that question? Are you? Are you really?"

"Sorry," Uozumi mumbled, though his own embarrassment didn't even come close to his roommate's. "It just… slipped my mind."

"Hmmph." For once, the pretty boy had no comeback, and so they continued to jog in only the sounds of rubber on asphalt and breath on lips.

Jogging on sand was three and a half times harder than jogging up hill on cement – and so they spent one hour every morning doing just that, trying to build up power in their legs. "My kicking ability isn't even _close_ to what it should be," Minami had justified the first time they thought of morning exercise, and had demanded that Uozumi join him on his quest for leg power.

And so he had.

They'd gone for about twenty minutes before passing by an older pair going in the opposite direction on the cement. The more sociable ones of both pairs waved politely at each other before continuing.

"Pretty sure they're swimmers," Uozumi had commented once they were out of earshot. Unbeknownst to him, the same had been said about them by the other pair.

_**F**_

He didn't think about vulnerability when he bent down to tie his left shoe.

Suddenly, there were arms around his neck and a body launched itself into his back, sending him flying in for a mouth of hot beach sand. His arms locked and caught him nanoseconds before contact. "What the—"

"Carry me home?" Came the whisper from the almost murderer.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"_Please,"_

Uozumi stood to his full height, not hindered in the least by the added weight hanging off his upper body. "No. Get off."

"Hey, I'm really tired," Minami reasoned (could that even be called reasoning?).

"And you reek. Let go," He tried to shake out of the smaller high school-er's hold, but Minami only tightened his grip and brought his legs up in a koala hold.

"Please?" Minami repeated, not caring at the waking world around him, like the old couple that was just walking past them and was giving the jogging buddies knowing smiles and Uozumi could have just _died_ of embarrassment.

He shifted the body to his back in one swift motion and broke into a bouncing jog back towards the dorms, eager to get out of the public eye as soon as possible.

"Thank you," Minami whispered by his ear. Uozumi stumbled, much to Minami's delight. After a couple more steps, he blew on the taller boy's ear, and Uozumi gave a surprised squeak.

"I _will_ drop you," He warned.

_**F**_

Minami was glad he was in the same class as Uozumi for numerous reasons, the most important one being that said friend sat _directly in front of him_.

So, because he was hidden from the teacher's view by a wall of studying muscle, he could daydream all he wanted without a care in the world. Sitting in the back corner by the window was the best spot for any student, and he intended to enjoy it to the fullest.

In front of him, Uozumi jotted down notes at a speed his neighbors were jealous of, or thought was too excessive (when they were also probably jealous). He was probably one of the hardest workers Minami had ever met, second to his own mother, and had the freestyle swimmer's full respect.

When the first period ended and they were given a break, the Studying Wall of Muscle (giggle giggle snort) turned around in his chair. He rested his chin on his hand and stared at Minami's own empty notebook. "You still don't take any notes?"

"I don't need to," The purple eyed boy tapped his temple with a mechanical pencil, then resumed doodling in the margins of his textbook.

"So lucky," Uozumi hummed, watching cartoon figures form on the pages. "So it's going to be like middle school all over again?"

"Don't worry," Minami assured, "I'll help you cheat if you really end up needing it—" He pushed back in his chair out of Uozumi's arm's reach, just barely saving himself. "That was uber close,"

But while he had managed to save himself, Uozumi's hands were already reaching to get a closer look at Minami's drawings—

"_Whoa!_" He yanked the book off the table, effectively scaring the crap out of half the classroom. "Secret, secret, freestyle swimmer stuff," He explained (cough bullshitted cough) and pointedly ignored Uozumi's curious expression. "Well, would you look at that," He nodded in the direction of the teacher walking through the doorway. "Class is about to start. Better turn around, _U-o-zu-mi_."

Said student couldn't help but shudder.

_**F**_

"Praise the _lord_," Minami clapped his hands at the wondrous display of racks all around him. "New swimsuits!"

"Heck yeah," Uozumi high fived and clasped hands with his best friend. "I'm done with the school's swimming uniforms."

"We're lucky Captain's letting us wear our own," he agreed, "Because apparently they weren't allowed to wear their own last year. He's changed up the rules." They began to pick through the numerous racks, occasionally recommending pieces for each other. "You should wear a Speedo."

"I always wear shorts."

Minami spun around with three different colors of the same swim piece in his hands. "So that you can show off your body to the world."

Uozumi rolled his eyes and continued to look through his half of the rack.

"No but seriously, you should get one. It fits with your style,"

"What do you mean?"

"You're trying out different kicks, right? If the upper half of your legs are blocked, then you don't really have as much freedom."

"Yeah…" Uozumi raised an eyebrow – he had a point.

"_And_ you have the bonus of showing your body off to the world—"

He pushed his friend away with a palm to the face and picked out a pair of green shorts.

"Spoilsport," Minami muttered as they began to search for a pair of swim tights that would suit him. He did _not_ expect to be pulled behind a rack all of a sudden by his friend, "What the heck?"

"Look – it's Matsuoka,"

The freestyle swimmer followed his roommate's gaze to where the redhead stood, just outside of the fitting rooms, locked in a blank stare with the guy from the next room.

"Wait, isn't that the guy who was jogging yesterday?"

"Small world," Uozumi straightened to his full height, shrugging. "Doesn't look like a good time to burst in with shorts. Let's take the long way around."

_**F**_

"I love love love my tights."

"I got it the first eleven times you said so."

Minami clicked his tongue. "But you don't under_stand_. I love, love, _lo_—"

"I think I understand pretty well, Minami," Uozumi was clearly trying to hold back a laugh, but the shorter student was willing to coax it out of him one way or another.

"Just. Listen. Feel; feel this, this soft fabric, in the shape of tights, that I just happen to _lo_—"

Uozumi cracked up, right then and there. Every time he tried to stop laughing he'd see Minami's face or his bag of tights and he'd just start all over again. Minami himself didn't really know why it was _that_ hilarious – Uozumi had always found the strangest things funny.

"It wasn't _that_ funny." He voiced.

The taller male stopped to breathe just for a few moments. "You spent so much time picking a 'unique' pair of tights out — *chuckle* — that you didn't even realize you were buying the same ones, as your rival," He managed, finally.

Minami's eyes shot to his bag. "You let me buy the same tights as _Matsuoka_?!"

_I had difficulty choosing between my angst-y TakuTeru fic or this drabble-ish one, but I like this one much better. Thanks for reading!_

_~ctd_


	2. Swimmates

**II**

"Swimming camp, woo! Swimming camp, yeah!"

"Your attempts to engage the bus in an improvised song are futile. Give it up, Minami." The backstroke swimmer didn't even glance up from his book while delivering the verbal blow.

"Shut _up_, Uozumi." He drawled.

"Mature."

Not one to have his mood easily dampened, Minami set his sights to something more rewarding – like the world past their windows. "Look at all these fields," He gaped, finally earning a glance from his seat mate. "Reminds me of my grandparents' place."

Uozumi closed his book. "You lived in Osaka before, right?" He looked between the boy and the view. "What happened to your accent?"

"I could switch dialects after a year," Minami said, not taking his eyes off the wide pastures they passed. "Besides, my interviewer for Samezuka would've thought I was some country chump if I had an accent."

"Your swimming would have compensated."

"Your faith in me is inspiring." He tore his gaze away from the glass to pull out his textbook and a pencil, then began to doodle while glancing only occasionally back at the page.

Uozumi yawned (they had to do their entire morning routine an hour earlier to make the bus) and continued to read, determined to stay awake until they reached the camp. From then on, he was pretty sure Captain Mikoshiba would beat the sleep right out of them.

He was halfway through the 'Smooth Twists and Turns' chapter when he noticed that the boy beside him wasn't actively looking between a textbook and the window anymore.

"Minami," He tried, not too loudly, not really sure if he wanted to wake the rousing bundle of excitement just yet. The figure leaning his head against the window didn't react at all.

"Leave him, Uozumi," The older of the pair sitting in front of him called. "He'll need his rest before we get to camp. Freestyle swimmers have a separate schedule." The redhead turned to peek over at the two. "You swim regular backstroke, right?"

"Yeah," He nodded, respectfully closing his book.

"Hmm…" After a moment, he turned back in his seat, ending the conversation.

Uozumi took one more look at his sleeping seatmate before shaking his head and returning to his book.

_**F**_

The door slid open while the lone inhabitant was in the middle of pulling on his pajamas, scaring his balance right out of him and sending him flying into a heap on the floor. The intruder, completely unaware (or uncaring) of the discourse he had just caused, plopped down on one of the futons already laid out.

"Minami! Knock before you walk into a room!" He pulled up his waistband the rest of the way and sat up. And then he realized Minami was essentially dead to the world. "What kind of practice did you do? It's almost…" He checked his watch. "Seven o'clock. Wow, you had two hours more practice than we did."

A low hum resounded, the freestyle swimmer's only reply.

Uozumi snorted, sitting in a more comfortable position beside the sprawled figure. He patted the light colored hair, earning a purr. "Move over, you're on my bed."

"Use the one you're sitting on." He discerned from the muffled mumbles.

"Are you going to sleep in your day clothes?"

"Mm."

"Are they wet?"

"Mmmm," Was that a 'yes'? A 'no'? An 'I don't care'?

"Are you coming to dinner?"

A slight tensing of the shoulders. Confusion, inner struggle. Then, a shake of the head.

"Suit yourself."

_**F**_

"_Dammit_ Minami, why didn't you just eat something?" The irritated half hiss, half shout resounded through the room. Every other swimmer gave a collective grumble as someone finally voiced their thoughts. The freestyle swimmer's rumbling stomach was louder than the crashing of waves on the beach.

"I was too tired," He groaned and clutched at his abdomen.

"Just go eat something," his light haired neighbor suggested. "Matsuoka senpai went out, too, and the captain didn't mind."

"He's totally knocked out," Uozumi, who was stuck in the range of aural fire, added sleepily. "Lucky guy."

"I nominate Uozumi to walk Minami to the kitchen. All for?" Collective hum. "Alright. Uozumi, get him out of here."

"Wow, such a rude teammate—" was all Minami managed before the very tired backstroke swimmer yawned and stood, then began to kick roll his best friend out of the room. The door slid shut behind them, much to its inhabitants' relief.

The green haired boy used Minami's wrist to pull him to his feet. He waited for the hungrier of the pair to begin leading the way through the dark hall, not trusting himself to be the one in front. A crash of thunder suddenly deafened him for a moment and all of his sleepiness was suddenly gone.

"Hm?" Minami glanced behind him to see his childhood friend clutching his shirt.

"Can't see," Uozumi explained, though they both knew he was lying.

"It's only thunder."

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to." He yawned. "Alright, I'll just grab a banana or something and then we can get back to the room." He ended up taking four bananas and a bottle of water back to the room, finishing two of them on the walk back. "Mmmm," He moaned into his food.

"It's just bananas," Uozumi said, but didn't bother to hide the amused smile on his face. _Crash crash crash_. "Let's, uh, go to sleep." He pulled the blanket up over his head and then ceased all movement.

The shorter boy, still very awake, finished the rest of his food while sitting up on his (_his_ – not Uozumi's original bed) futon. The dark room could only hold his interest for so long before he decided to pull out his phone and go through it.

Uozumi never made any noise while he slept, he noticed. Neither did he, of course (…probably). Holding his breath, he leaned over the blanketed figure and slowly peeled back the covers.

He couldn't bite back the small smile. Uozumi slept with his mouth open, but breathed through his nose. His forehead was scrunched up – he probably went to sleep like that, focusing on _not_ hearing the claps of thunder outside of their room.

He managed to snap one photo (_catcha!)_ and one photo only, before the sleeping figure grunted and buried himself in his covers again.

Minami lay on his back, staring at the phone's screen. The flash hadn't woken anyone, thank god – but he'd gotten the picture.

_**F**_

"Matsuoka!"

The redhead finished tying his shoe and stood up. It took him a second to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. He blinked in slight surprise. "Minami?"

"Hey!" He finally caught up with the boy and tapped him on the shoulder. "Can we run with you?"

"With _me_?"

"You going to make me say it again?"

The taller swimmer looked at him with a skeptical expression for a second (to which the shorter haired boy just smiled) before shrugging. "If you can keep up?"

"Is that a challenge?" The taller backstroke swimmer slung an arm around his other half's shoulders, grinning at Matsuoka with a smile that reminded the shark of himself.

Rin put his hands on his hips. "You could take it that way."

A half kilometer later and Uozumi was pretty sure he wasn't running material. Unlike Minami, Uozumi hadn't taken track for three years of his life before switching to swimming – and he didn't even know _how_ the redhead could 'jog' so fast. He barely kept up with them as it was.

"Go on ahead, I'm going to grab a soda!" He was pretty sure Minami didn't need any sort of liquid right now but he didn't care – he needed to lean against something, and fast. After sitting down he almost jumped when something icy touched the back of his neck. "Whoa—"

"Strawberry," The longer haired boy explained, dropping the can into Uozumi's hands and plopping down beside him on the bench. "Matsuoka runs _really _fast."

"You think?"

"I wonder if he took track before…"

"I don't think so," Uozumi took a swig and passed the can to the buyer. "He doesn't run like a runner."

"I think that might've made more sense in your head,"

"No," The green eyed boy rolled his eyes. "You can tell he's never done distance or anything like that. He runs like he's in the water. Or something. He runs in a different way from you, anyhow."

"And his body type isn't really the right type for it, I guess." Minami filled his mouth with the carbonated liquid and passed the can back.

At that, the darker haired boy's eyebrows shot up into his bangs. "Have you been checking him out, Minami?" Said swimmer almost choked on his soda. "Well I could see why, what with that 'body' and all—"

Minami cut him off with a fit of coughing. "We'd better get running again, if you don't want to lose."

Uozumi, holding back his laughter, tossed the empty can into the trash and began to work his way up to Minami's pace. The shorter boy _always_ overdid it when he was embarrassed. He could see the bright red ears from all the way back here.

"Uozumi you freaking _snail_," He called back, before breaking into a run.

Despite knowing he would regret racing the runner sooner rather than later, the taller swimmer sprinted after him. As he ran along the edge of the sand he could see figures already in the water, swimming towards the shore. Who would wake up at six in the morning to run laps between shores, he didn't know – but he had other things to focus on right now.

_**F**_

"In the end, I think all the training camp did was take years off my life." Minami leaned against the fence, fanning himself with his homework. "God, it's so hot."

"You're the one who wanted to come up here," Uozumi replied around his mouthful of bread.

"I know," He stood, folding his papers and standing beside his friend, "But _wow_. It's… _hot._" He bit off the other end of Uozumi's bread and chewed thoughtfully. Uozumi just stared at him, his open mouth frozen an inch away from his own end. "It's," Minami covered his mouth as he swallowed. "What _is_ that?"

"Super extra spicy special."

Minami made a half moan, half whimper, before bolting off the roof and heading to wherever the closest water source may be.

"Not even that spicy," Uozumi couldn't help but laugh as he followed his palatably dying friend.

_**F**_

"Minami, you're really slow today," The redhead commented, already sitting on the edge of the pool by the time the light haired swimmer finished his 100 meters. "You sick or something?"

"No," He shook his head, before pulling his water bottle from under the diving board and downing what must have been his sixth refill. "I ate something bad."

"It wasn't bad," A green eyed backstroke-r called from the next lane on Matsuoka Rin's other side. "Minami just can't have anything remotely spicy."

"Hmm," Rin looked back at his racing partner. "Good to know."

"Oh _god_, I don't even want to know why you just said that." Minami pulled himself out of the pool and took up a ready position on the board. "Fifteen hundred meters, and then we can leave."

"Right, right," the redhead replied, hopping onto his own board and then pushing off at the same time as Minami.

"Whaaat?" Uozumi watched indignantly. Was this some sort of retribution? The freestyle swimmers had a harder camp, so everyone else had a more rigorous practice? He groaned before his captain called for them to get out of the pool for the breast stroke swimmers' turn.

_**F**_

"I am dying," Uozumi announced before the door had even fully opened. He walked three steps before face planting on the bottom bunk, startling an 'eek' out of the person currently resting on it. "This practice. I'm going to die before the actual competition."

"Dude, you are sweating all over."

"We had cardio," He replied, rolling to his roommate's feet so that the latter had a chance to sit up. "We ran laps outside."

"Go take a shower."

"I've already taken two today."

"_Go. _Take. A. _Shower."_

"Later."

"When is later?"

"Does this conversation seem a tad familiar to you?" He held accusatory eye contact with the lighter haired boy for all of three seconds.

"I didn't _smell_ bad."

"You did _something_ to keep us up."

"And now you're going to do the same to me? Real mature." He pushed Uozumi's shoulder.

"Oh, yeah," Uozumi snorted. "And that wasn't immature at all."

"Get off my bed, you smelly backstroke-r," He used his knee to push Uozumi further away – but there was a clear difference in builds between the two of them, and Uozumi was just as strong and heavy as Minami was fast and agile.

"I'm so. Tired."

"Agh—" A pillow to the face muffled the rest of his groan.

_**F**_

Uozumi wondered why their captain kept pairing the two freestyle swimmers together when everyone else's partner was always switched. When he asked, "It gives you a sharper eye to pick out differences. And the contrast is amazing."

When he spent a few minutes watching them, the differences Captain Mikoshiba mentioned between the pair were obvious.

Matsuoka had a rougher style that seemed a tad edgier because it wasn't his primary stroke (though it might as well be). His splashes were large and he bobbed, his body using probably two feet of water depth-wise. Like his personality, his style was vociferous and imposing.

Minami, on the other hand, had an elegant form that gave him an aura none of the other swimmers possessed. He made it look effortless; he stayed right below the surface and his arms sliced right through the water with minimal splash. He gained speed from the style's main base, which was having minimal chances to breathe – just the way he liked it.

"You're going to drown," Matsuoka said once they'd finished half of their laps and sat at the bench to drink water.

"You're really saying that to a swimmer?"

"You should be careful," Matsuoka replied, distant but insistent. "I'm not the only one who's… wary." He nodded to their left, where their captain was speaking to one of the best backstroke swimmers on the team.

"Is that why he made us pair all the time?" Minami chugged his water as understanding colored his eyes. Matsuoka only shrugged. "The less I breathe, the faster I go."

"You won't be going _at all_ if you pass out in the pool."

"Rookie mistake."

"We all make them."

Minami studied the taller boy for a minute. He was used to swimming by guys larger than him most of his life. Even after his growth spurt in middle school, he was still skinnier and shorter than the other powerhouse swimmers who came to Samezuka.

He looked back to his captain, one of the best freestyle swimmers he had ever seen in his entire _life_, and wondered if it was this same train of thought going through his mind right now.

The break ended and they returned to the poolside.

_Thanks for reading!_

_~ctd_


	3. Teammates

**III**

"…what are you _wearing?_"

Uozumi turned around at the surprised voice, unable to speak with the colossal amount of food shoved into his mouth all at once. "Mmm?"

When Minami realized he could understand what his friend was saying, he shook his head. "We've been friends too long," He muttered, before asking Uozumi in more… sensitive terms, what in the world he was wearing and why.

The string of gibberish took a moment to translate. "Cheerleading team?" Uozumi nodded vigorously. "Why would you wear that, then?" A fist pump. "Showing your spirit?" Sometimes Minami wondered who the child in this friendship was. "Let's just go inside," He began dragging his friend to the bleachers.

"There are so many people here," Uozumi found himself saying when the last of his food made its way to his stomach.

"Bigger audience, better publicity. Higher chances of scholarships and scouting." Minami snagged one of the fried octopus balls from his friend's skewer before leading them into their team's side of the bleachers. Around them, the rest of the team filed in.

"So excited," Uozumi had finally managed to swallow down the goods, just in time for the first whistles to be called.

_**F**_

"Minami!" Said swimmer paused while pulling on his cap to glance around for the owner of the voice. His personal cheerleader stuck out in the sea of black Samezuka swimmers, waving his arms frenetically.

Grinning, the freestyle swimmer waved back with just as much fervor, ignoring the strange looks the referees and whistleblower were giving him. "Hey!" He shouted back, stepping to the edge of the pool. The other swimmers were all almost done stretching.

"Minami!" The green eyed swimmer called again, as if he hadn't been heard the first time. The purple eyed object of his attention threw his arms up in an impatient '_what!?' _gesture, before he arched over in the diving form.

Just before the whistle blew, Uozumi finally yelled, _"Don't forget to breathe!"_

The swimmers of the second freestyle heat shot into the water like a row of bullets, most diving about three or four feet in and worming their way back to the mid surface range. But starts had always been the easiest part for Minami, and he had just put himself in the lead by four meters.

"Swim!" The cheers began, but by the third chant the top three were already making their turns. And Minami Kazuteru had still not taken his first breath.

His speed had not decreased, but at the seventy meter mark the angle of his strokes began to change, tilting his body a bit. When it almost changed his entire trajectory he pushed himself out of the water prematurely, sucking in a deep breath. He won the race by 1.2 seconds.

_**F**_

"What did I tell you?"

"Come on, I still _won,_" Minami reached over his best friend's lap for the strawberry milk before having it lifted and held _just_ out of reach.

"It was still reckless!"

Minami sighed, then sat back and clapped his hands together in an apologetic gesture. "I know, I'm sorry – now pass the milk."

"Incorrigible."

"We've already established that," He chugged the rest of the pink carton down. "Thanks!" Uozumi did nothing but stare accusingly at his neighbor for the next two races, leaving aforementioned neighbor the duty of leading the cheer.

_**F**_

"Is it just me, or is Matsuoka acting strange?"

Minami glanced over the entire array of swimmers again, his gaze lingering on the red haired freestyle swimmer. He was glaring at the water with a determined look on his face. In the next row was a smaller, more calm looking swimmer. The two neighbors seemed to be aware of only each other.

"It might have something to do with the guys standing next to him."

Uozumi peered down at the shorter swimmer. "Hey, that's the jogger, right?"

"I think so," Minami agreed. His eyes scanned the scoreboard for more possible information on the subject of their conversation. "Nanase Haruka. Iwatobi Swim Team."

"Iwatobi High has a swim club?"

"Apparently," he shrugged. The swimmers lined up at the poolside, slipping in a few last minute stretches before the blowing of the whistle. "You're right; Matsuoka doesn't look so good."

Uozumi had no time to reply before the whistle blew, and the fourth freestyle heat sprang off the edge of the pool. Almost immediately there was a gap between the Samezuka and Iwatobi swimmer, and the rest of the heat. The turn only served to widen that gap.

"Apparently it doesn't affect his swimming," Minami yelled over their team's cacophonous cheers.

"But Iwatobi's pulling ahead! Or at least catching up," And for the second leg, it seemed as if either one of the two could win, with no clear victor. But at the last second, the red haired swimmer reached the end first, spurring his entire team to their feet to cheer.

"He did it!" Uozumi threw himself at Minami and they cheered in each other's arms. "…and, what's happening?"

Matsuoka had climbed out of the water with celebratory poise, but his facial expression seemed to hold something darker. He turned to the Iwatobi swimmer and said something that was drowned out by all the noise. The Iwatobi swimmer stood in the water, suddenly shocked, while Matsuoka walked away.

"What just happened?" Uozumi repeated, glancing worried-ly at his best friend. "That didn't look friendly, at all."

Minami himself was frowning at the exchange that had apparently left even Nanase Haruka shell shocked. The boy only got out of the water when the referee came over to see if everything was alright. "I don't know."

He turned to his other side to talk to their flaming haired captain, but found him uncharacteristically quiet. His expression mirrored Minami's from a moment before. When he noticed his younger team members' equally concerned gazes, all he offered was a low hum.

"Get ready for your race, Uozumi," He said, ushering the backstroke swimmer out of the stands.

_**F**_

"Hello?"

"_Uozumi!"_

It took him a half instant to recognize the voice on the other end. "Minami?"

"_Hey, what are you doing right now? Not washing your face in the bathroom for the fifth time, I hope?"_

The green eyed boy froze midway while drying his face with a towel. "Uh, no," He lied, hanging the cloth on the rack and heading back into the bedroom he shared with his two older brothers. "Why?" At his brothers' glances he mouthed 'Minami', earning (amused?) nods from both.

"_Oh you know, I was just wondering,"_ He was breathing lightly, like he was outside. _"Are you home?"_

"No."

"_Don't lie."_

"Why are you asking?"

"_Let's go to the summer festival!"_ He cheered. On the other end, someone must have given the boy a weird look or something, because the exclamation was followed by quieter hasty apologies. _"So? You coming?"_

"So I have a choice?"

"_Would I ever force you into anything?"_ Uozumi rolled his eyes. Minami speedily added, _"And wear traditional clothes!"_ Before Uozumi could protest,_ "I'll be there in five minutes, be ready by then_!" And the line went dead.

He stumbled through the fastest quick change he had ever attempted in his life, ignoring the chuckles of his older and younger brothers, before hopping down the stairs while trying to tie the knot at his waist. The doorbell rang just as he reached the foyer.

"Hey," He managed breathlessly.

His best friend scanned his figure from head to toe, a bright smile gracing his features by the time they refocused on his face. "You look great!"

Minami's look was as vivacious as Uozumi's was withering. Levying a death glare at his friend, "And why aren't _you_ wearing traditional clothes?" He made to climb back up the steps.

"Does it matter?" The shorter boy grabbed the taller one's wrist and jerked him out of the doorway. "I'm taking your brother for the night!"

"Have a good time!" Came the synchronized chorus from the Uozumi household, traitors to the swimmer of the family.

They walked in silence, broken only occasionally by Minami's own barely restrained chuckles. It was only when Uozumi gave a lengthy sigh that the pretty boy let loose, needing to lean against a light pole to be able to stay on two feet.

"How…did you change… so fast?" He managed between pants.

"You gave me five minutes." Uozumi didn't even stop. "I'll leave you behind."

"Can't have that," Minami jogged a few steps to catch up and looped his arm with the angry swimmer's, just as the festival lights came into view. Sounds and smells bombarded their senses moments later, and Uozumi mentally thanked his friend for inviting him.

"I came for the food."

"I've got you covered," Minami waved his wallet in the air, smirking at his companion. Uozumi didn't know why – if Minami was going to pay, why was he so _smug _about it?

Twenty minutes of wandering found them hanging out beneath the umbrella of a takoyaki tent, sharing a small paper plate of fried balls of squid. Minami had stayed glued to Uozumi's side the entire way, pulling him this way and that to look attractions. They'd finally made it to the part the backstroke swimmer enjoyed most.

He plopped his third squid ball into his mouth, chewing heartily and moaning at the taste. Minami couldn't help but chuckle at how overcome with emotion his best friend became over food.

While said friend was distracted, Minami ran a hand over Uozumi's fringe. The eater froze, a little surprised but more _confused_. "What was that?"

"Your hair's still damp," Minami said, finally breaking body contact. They stood face to face now, the food in one hand forgotten, eyes trying to read each other.

"So?"

"So, you always keep washing your face when you're upset. If you can't go to the beach, or use the pool to swim a thousand and one laps." Uozumi didn't give any answer – Minami knew what he was saying. "None of our backstroke swimmers qualified this year. You're not the only one."

"I know that."

"And only three freestyle swimmers, two breaststrokes, and two butterflies. We did okay, but not that well."

"I _know_, Minami."

His voice bordered on a growl, but Minami wasn't one to back down – especially not from an argument with _this_ childhood friend. "You didn't come to watch the relay yesterday. Iwatobi High qualified for regionals."

"Hmm." He broke their eye contact, tossing the now empty plate into a trash can and chewing with less vigor. He didn't turn back to the conversation. Only his peripheral vision kept Minami in sight.

"Is it because Ai qualified?" Uozumi frowned incredulously. Minami had known the answer was an obvious 'no', and that was why he had asked – an initial reaction was the first step towards a full conversation with the taller boy.

They started to walk towards a quieter area, weaving through the crowds of the festival. Neither of them spoke for the longest time. It would have been an uncomfortable silence had Minami not noticed and acknowledged the fact that Uozumi was still _thinking_, as he had been doing for the past day and a half.

"I was 2.6 seconds from qualifying," He finally said. The exact fact that bothered him most became clear, and his own thoughts towards it followed. "_Two and a half seconds_ from the bottom qualifier. I was literally _right_ _there._" He crossed his arms, right hand gripping his shoulder so tight that it crumpled the stiff fabric immediately.

Minami snaked an arm around his best friend's shoulders, closing the distance between their sides. Like he had done for the rest of the night, Uozumi didn't push him away, only acknowledged the body contact and accepted it in silence.

"Hey, it's Matsuoka."

Chartreuse eyes snapped up to scan the crowd and stopped on a head of unmistakable red hair, long enough for the teachers to all complain and beg the student to cut it. He'd recognize that build anywhere, now that he knew its potential.

Behind him trailed little Nitori Aiichirou, the breaststroke who had latched onto the redhead and chosen one of the two best mentors on their team.

In a moment of sudden subject change, Minami pulled Uozumi close to lean into his ear, "Think they're dating?"

A pause, followed by a snort. "I think Nitori wishes,"

"My thoughts exactly." They waved as they passed the swimmers by, exchanging a few greetings before continuing along on their way. "Nitori didn't qualify, either."

"He's a first year. He has time."

"You're a second year, so _so do you_."

"Minami, can you honestly say that if you were in my position, you wouldn't be a walking model of despair right now?"

"No." No hesitation whatsoever, and it totally caught the backstroke swimmer off guard. "But _Uozumi_, can you honestly say that if you were in _my_ position, you wouldn't be trying to cheer up aforementioned model of despair right now?"

He had a point.

"So, come on. I'll buy you all the food you want, so smile a little at this summer festival." He linked their arms again, back to his overzealous mood. "And then cheer on this brilliant friend of yours at his Regionals race."

Uozumi gave him a look of exasperation and mild disbelief. "Really? A name pun?"

"Hey," Minami stopped their walk, "It was either 'your brilliant friend' or 'your one friend'. I didn't want to assume, you know?"

They shared looks of bemusement and amusement, before a prolonged sigh out of one elicited a small excited cheer out of the other. "Let's get a balloon!"

"What _is_ it with you and balloons?" He received no answer with the lighter haired boy dragging him off in the direction of the booth they had passed some time ago. Inertia was working a little too well on Uozumi when his lead-er stopped abruptly in the pathway and he walked right into him, earning a mouthful of peach scented hair.

"—zuteru, right?" Someone in front of them was saying. Uozumi hobbled to Minami's side to see the speaker. An unexpected trio greeted them: a short blond, a Minami sized brunette, and an Uozumi sized fellow swimmer that he happened to recognize as another backstroke-r who hadn't made it through. He was the one who had been speaking.

"That's me," Minami replied with a friendly smile. "Congratulations on qualifying today."

"Thank you," The green haired (_JOGGER NUMBER TWO! _Uozumi realized) swimmer thanked.

"See you then!" The medium sized Samezuka student waved and led his companion back into the crowd. "Are all the swim teams here tonight or something?"

"Hey hey, don't walk so quickly." The taller male adjusted his pants with his one free hand. "I can't move too fast in this."

"Not used to it?"

"Don't look so smug about it." Chuckle chuckle. "I won't get you a balloon."

"Who asked you to?"

"You were going to. It's an established fact that you suck at all things festival game related."

"Rude."

"Are we really going to go there?"

_Thanks for reading!_

_~ctd_


End file.
